About the Huduma Fellowship
The Huduma (Swahili for Service) Fellowship is an initiative by the LéO Africa Institute and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, to provide thought leadership training for emerging civic & public sector champions in Uganda. Every year, the programme enrolls 15 outstanding champions, who already work in civic & public service or aspire to do so. These champions from multidisciplinary backgrounds undertake a two year training on various aspects of leadership, public affairs management, and policy making.
The programme offers the fellows an opportunity to learn ideals of “servant” leadership, offer networking opportunities, and a deeper understanding of the public sector in Uganda to aid fellows’ growth as conscious civic & public sector champions.
Our Identity
Adinkra Symbol. The Nkyinkyim symbol was chosen as Huduma’s logo because it depicts the twists and turns of life’s journey that require our fellows to have initiative, dynamism and versatility to survive.
What Our Fellows Learn
Focused on leadership, change, and innovation, the Huduma Fellowship is built around highly integrated modules modelled along the LéO Africa Institute strategic objectives and vision for leadership in Africa.
At the fellowship, which is delivered through a combination of different approaches that include face to face presentations and online studies, fellows engage in faculty presentations, case studies, personal assessments, individual and group exercises, and special projects. Through a customized case and professional Faculty coaching, fellows develop a personal action plan to tap into their leadership and influencing skills that are used during the fellowship and in fellows’ post fellowship career development plan.
Fellowship Structure
The Huduma fellowship is structured along a series of two seminars and two workshops in between which Fellows spend time at their work places with occasional interface with the members of the faculty as they continue to learn and apply the knowledge and skills acquired.
1. Seminar One | Mar 22 – 24 2024
2. Seminar Two | May 3 – 4 2024
3. Seminar Three | Aug 23 – 24 2024
4. Graduation Seminar | TBC 2024
Fellowship Delivery
Approach
The fellowship is delivered through a combination of means: face to face sessions, online facilitated sessions and self-study which include reading materials recommended by members of the faculty under each module. Fellows are involved in research, discussions and debates which are used by members of the faculty to mentor and coach participants in selected leadership practice areas.
Selection Criteria
The candidates for the Fellowship are individuals between the ages of 25-35 who have demonstrable interest in volunteerism and civic & public service. The fellows are early stage professionals working in the civic & public sectors in Uganda who are intellectually curious and are interested in public affairs. The fellowship is also open to individuals with a demonstrable interest in public affairs.
After Applying
The assessment of potential Fellows is carried out at two levels:
1. Each individual application is assessed against a selected set of indicators. The applicant is required to be honest in their application in order to give members of the Selection Committee a fair understanding of who they are.
2. The second stage of this assessment is through a conversation with a member of the Institute faculty. At this stage, shortlisted candidates have an opportunity to discuss in detail their career plans and experience in the public sector. The assessment provides additional information that may have not been availed during the application stage. At this stage, the candidate discusses with a faculty member their expectations from the Fellowship which will be assessed at the end of the programme.